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Thursday, 4 December 2008

Matcha & Adzuki, Again

After making a few exchanges on making a Swiss roll with one of my blog visitors, You Fei, she got me interested to make a roll cake myself. Thanks You Fei!

With some left over adzuki red bean paste from my last bake, I decided to make a matcha and red bean roll.

It was many months ago when a blog visitor requested that I provide step-by-step photos to illustrate how to go about making a Swiss Roll. As much as I love to take photos along the way while I am making the cake, sometimes it is really not feasibly. First of all, I do not have a tripod to fix my camera, so I could only rely on my two extra pairs of of hands...which are somewhat not very reliable when it comes to taking clear photos! Since my boys were at home, I took the opportunity to get them to take video clips instead of photos while I go about making the sponge layer.

The following short video clip was taken by three different persons at different stages. The first part on whisking the egg mixture was done by me! Yes, I was holding the electric mixer on my right hand and taking the video with the camera on my right. Luckily, this movie maker software allows me to clip away unwanted frames! When I was folding the flour and butter, I got my younger boy to take the video. I can't use most of the video footage as half the time he was pointing the camera to the side of the mixing bowl! Fortunately, I did sense that he could be too short to get the full view of what was going on inside the mixing bowl, I tilted the bowl several times towards the camera lens. The last part on rolling up the sponge layer was taken by my elder boy. Although he took a pretty good video, I had to turned it into several photo frames instead. The reason was, my pair of hands look super super Ugly from the video!!! It was a horrendous sight! They looked worst than a pair of hands of an old granny...they were all wrinkled, rough, thick & fat, and overly tanned :'(

It took me great pain and hours just to crop away all the unwanted 'scenes' and frames...and I'm glad I am finally able to put together quite a decent looking video clip ;)

The other good thing about the software is that it allows me to 'Mute' the audio sound, otherwise you will be hearing lots of giggling, some nonsensical exchange of languages among the boys, and the constant "Is it done, is it done yet? When can I stop (taking the video)?!" and things like "Yummy! yummy!...mummy, mummy, I know what you are making! You are making muffins, right?! I can smell muffins!" ????!!!

I guess the greatest fear of making a Swiss roll is having it cracked all over when you are at the very last stage...that is, the rolling of the filled sponge layer. So far, I have attempted to make a roll cake for 5 to 6 times. I really have to count myself very lucky that most of the time, I managed to roll it up nicely, except for once or twice when there were some slight cracks here and there. I do not have any secrets to it, but I think it helps if one were to follow the recipe very closely. In fact I find that this applies to all kinds of cakes and breads. Since baking is a Science, it is thus very important to follow the instructions carefully and pay great attention to the little details. I do hope the attached video is able to give some 'insights' for those of you who are interested to make a roll cake. Happy baking and rolling!

With an electric mixer, whisk eggs and sugar on HIGH speed for about 5 to 7 mins, until the batter double in volume and is ribbon-like (the batter should leave a ribbon-like texture when the beater is lifted up). Turn to LOW speed and whisk for another 1 to 2 mins. Whisking at low speed helps to stabilise the air bubbles in the batter.

Add sifted cake flour and matcha powder into the batter in 3 separate addition. With each addition, use a spatula, gently fold in the flour until well blended. Take care not to deflate the batter.

Add the melted butter and fold with spatula until well blended.

Pour the batter into the tray. Spread and smooth out the batter evenly. Bake for 10~15 mins*, until the surface turns golden browned or until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean.

Remove tray from oven. Remove sponge layer from tray (with parchment paper still in tack), place it in a plastic bag**. Tie the plastic bag and leave it to cool. (Instead of using a plastic bag, I cover the sponge layer with another Swiss roll tray.)

Upon cooling, remove the parchment paper, and turn the sponge layer with the 'skin' side down on a sheet of clean parchment paper. Spread with adzuki red bean paste(or any filling as desired) and roll up the sponge layer by lifting it up with the parchment paper. Place the rolled cake seam side down.

NOTE: *Do not over bake the sponge layer, otherwise it will turn dry and may crack upon rolling. ** The reason for doing so is to keep the sponge layer moist for easy rolling.

You're so blessed to have the extra pairs of hands. I imagine how wonderful it is when everyone busy and noises in the kitchen. Ended up, you've wonderful swiss roll. I really like the video, you did it very well. I think you are multi talent :)

Hi SSB, the cake roll is really that simple, especially the part on baking the sponge and there is not much ingredients involved. You should give it a try, if you don't, you will never get over the fear.

dear Grace, yes, I'm very blessed to be able to spend time with my two kids during their growing years. Sometimes I am even have a third pair of hands when my niece came over :)Nah, there is no talent involved, the softeware is quite user-friendly, anyone can make their own video clip ;)

You Fei, how long did you beat your eggs? I usually take about 5-7 mins to get it to reach the ribbon like stage. I agree, practise makes perfect, and we all learn from our mistakes.

Hi Bernie, thanks for dropping by, I just hopped over to your lovely blog, and your recent post of the butter cake has already gone into my to-do list :p

That swiss roll really looks great! I tried baking one last time but the cake surface was a little too crispy when it came out of the oven. :l and there were a lot of 'craters' haiz.Don't know where went wrong. But you have inspired me to try again!(:

hi! can i ask if you know the difference in the end result of the genoise if butter is not used? I've been trying to find out what's the difference because it seems to be an optional ingredient and i haven't the time to test both out yet. please and thank you!

Hi HHBIt;s me again, Min. Baked this Matcha roll cake this morning for breakfast (after the success attempt rolling the Rasberry Swiss Roll). But, I noticed something not very right. When I baked my Matcha sponge, the sponge surface poped up a lot of bubbles and hence the sponge surface was not even - (a pimples face) I don know why this happened.

And, I find the texture is quite dense(not as dry as the Rasberry swiss roll I made the last round)

Furthermore, more cracks appeared when I roll the Matcha sponge.

Anyway, thanks to the Matcha powder! The aroma of the green tea is so awesome! And it makes the whole swiss roll a nice one despite all other shortfalls.

Hi Min, the bubbles are the air trapped in the batter when you are whisking the batter. To overcome this, after spreading out the batter, you need to tap the baking tray a few times on a tabletop to let the air bubbles escape. I am not sure why the sponge is dense...maybe it is due to the whisking of the eggs (to get to the ribbon-like stage), you may not have whisk to the right state...or, it could be due to the baking temperature/time. ***Sigh*** I really want to help, but my knowledge on baking is really limited (I learn baking only from recipe books)...as such I don't understand what went wrong :( Hope you understand.

Hi Ame, it is not advisable to use self raising flour as it contains baking powder which is not required in this recipe. You can try to substitue cake flour with plain flour by following the instruction stated in this site: (http://www.joyofbaking.com/IngredientSubstitution.html)Hope this helps.

Hi, the video was very helpful. I was able to follow the process through. THanks very much. Only the skin side of my roll seemed too moist and it got stuck on the parchment paper. The skin peeled off when I started to roll it. Do you know why or what could have been wrong? I use the exact recipe and tray size, and I followed every step accordingly. Appreciate your advice.

Hi Mommy, could be the type of parchment paper you used? I have tried using those so called "grease-proof paper" and I had the exact problem you faced. It was fine if I were to use proper parchment paper, eg from the brand "Glad".

Today I am so thankful to my friend who provided me with your blog link. It was great and I am happy to see the step by step video clip. It is so helpful for someone like me who has not gone for any baking classes. I will definitely be trying your recipe on baking hopefully soon:)

Hi lwychin, I don't have an external flash, all the photos here are taken with a point and shoot camera, canon powershot G3. I do not know much about photography, I only turn off the flash, set it to auto-mode, select the macro-mode and simply point and shoot.

lol I 'attempted' to make a roll cake using a recipe from a japanese site called nico nico but forgetting about the measurement difference the batter was not enough for my 9x13 pan and... lets just say it failed so hard I didn't even get to roll it up ;3;

But since you pan is nearly the same as mine I have more confidence to try it again! I also felt the time I was mixing the eggs it was too thick (i did it over boiling water..) yeah Im going to try this again

Hi,I also have the same problem with the skin sticking to the non stick paper, I do use Glad, it seems that when I let the cake cool, the skin become really moist and sticky because of the sugar? Is there anything else you could advise? Thank you. LC

Hi LC, I am sorry I do not know how to get around with the problem you had. What I did was, I covered the sponge layer and leave it to cool (this way it will stay moist for easy rolling). Then I will transfer the sponge layer to a clean sheet of parchment paper and use it to roll up the cake. I usually place the skin-side down on the parchment paper so that the finished roll will have the skin layer on the outside. Maybe you can try placing the skin-side facing up (to prevent it from sticking to the paper) so that after rolling the skin layer is inside?

I have made this cake twice now from this recipe, I absolutely LOVE it and I thought since I have used it more than once I should leave a comment to say thank you and may I link you to my blog? I currently have a different recipe posted for a swiss roll this one is far better -- simple and delicious Thank you for posting it!!

First of all, thanks a million for the recipe!(: It 's my first swiss roll and it was an amazing experience!(:

Just a short question, do you have the problem of having the red bean paste not 'sticking' nicely to the cake? When I cut it up, it has a tendency to come apart:/ Not too sure it's cause of the red bean paste that I tried making myself, or is it a matter of timing of putting the red bean paste onto the cake, which slightly cracked:// Think I didn't rest it well to keep the moisture in!

Once again, I lovee reading your blog while being overseas and away from home(:

hi! I tried making a swiss roll today but i realized my batter is too airy.. the end product was a swiss roll that had HUGE air pockets (and they werent exactly very soft either). Do you think its because i whipped my eggs too much or my recipe didnt call for butter like yours?

and, how do you fold yours so nicely! i always end up with clumps of green tea in my batter no matter how many times i fold it. are the clumps normal?

Hi, not sure what went wrong? Did your finished batter looks like the one I shared in my video clip? maybe u can try tap the pan on your table to help release some of the air trapped in the batter?You can shift the green tea and flour a few times before adding. When about to add into the batter, sieve it over again, do it in 3 separate additions. The green tea should blend in with no clumps. hope this helps.